Türkiye survives thriller against Montenegro in EuroBasket opener

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye survived a nail-biter against Montenegro in the first match of the 2022 EuroBasket, as they came from behind a 66-61 deficit to emerge triumphant in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

The Turkish team was one point behind when 45 seconds were left in the clock, managed to find the winning basket with Furkan Korkmaz's layup with 10 seconds to go in both teams' first FIBA EuroBasket 2022 showdown.

Shane Larkin's 18 points and seven assists were vital in Türkiye's victory, while Cedi Osman contributed with 15 points.

Montenegro's top scorers were Bojan Dubljevic (18 points) and Marko Simonovic (13 points).

Belgium will face the Georgian hosts on Thursday in the other Group A game.

The top four teams from each of the four groups will advance to Round 16, with the final stage taking place in Berlin from Sept. 10 to 18.

The eight winners will battle in the quarterfinals on Sept.13 - 14, followed by the semifinals on Sept. 16.

The final will be played on Sept. 18, along with the third-place match.